Dr. Said Abu Ali, Assistant Secretary-General and head of the Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector, received Dr. Omar Milad, President of Al-Azhar University in Gaza, at the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States headquarters in Cairo on 9 October. During the meeting, Dr. Milad provided an update on the resumption of studies at the university despite the ongoing Israeli aggression against Gaza. He highlighted the use of distance learning technologies to continue education, noting that the current semester has seen the enrollment of 11,000 students and that the university employs approximately 500 staff members. The most pressing issue, he explained, is securing tuition fees for students.
Dr. Milad also outlined a three-stage plan to address the effects of Israeli aggression on the university and its educational processes, as well as the significant destruction of its facilities. The first stage focuses on reviving the university's activities through distance learning. The second stage aims at rehabilitating the institution, while the third stage involves rebuilding the damaged structures.
In response, Dr. Abu Ali emphasised that the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States (Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education of the State of Palestine and the university presidents in Gaza, will launch an initiative in cooperation with relevant Arab and Islamic organisations and Arab funds. This initiative will aim to provide the necessary support for the educational process in Gaza, bolstering the resilience of the Palestinian people and their courageous resistance against Israeli attempts at extermination and displacement.
